Ironing device



June 18, 1940 .Js P. AHLBRANDT 2,204,744

IRONING DEVICE Filed Oct. l1, 1957' Patented June 1.8., 1940l UNHTED STATES PATENT oFFiCE IRONIN G DEVICE John Paul .Ahlbrandh Chicago, Ill., assignor to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 11,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to ironing devices, and partlcularly to the construction of the shoe portion thereof.

The heating portion of a continuous ironing holding the heating element against the.shoe,`

and a cover. The assembly is generally bolted together by means of studs welded to the shoe and extending through the various units and cover, with nuts clamping the units together.

It has been found, however, that the weld at the studs mars the surface of the shoe, that the studs are uniformly spaced only with diiculty, and that more metal is used in the shoe than' is necessary for eiciently performing the functions of the ironer. l The object of this invention is an improved lroner shoe assembly which eliminates the stud bolts and their attendant surfacemarring.

Another object of this invention is a simplified construction of ironer shoe and cover which enables the shoe to be held in the cover by means of a sliding fit.

' Still another object is a yreduction in the amount of metal required for the shoe. Still another object is an ironer shoe having a 30 cooler leading edge to prevent burning the hands of the operator.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken together with the accompanying drawing which forms a part thereof, and in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmental plan view of the novel shoe assembly with a portion cut away to expose the principal parts thereof ;v and 40 Fig. 2 is a side elevation in section of the assembly of Fig. 1.

In its preferred form this invention comprises a cover having in-turned edges, a shoe adapted to be slipped over the edges "and'between the sides of the cover, and a spring-pressed backing plate the springs being in the form of strips spot welded to the backing plate and having upturned ends which Vare anchored in the upper corners of the cover. The leading edge (is enclosed by tween the cover and shoe to keep\the temperavturel'of the cover within safe limits.

Referring now -to the drawing for a detailed 'description of the invention, ,I0 is an ironer shoe which is curved along the major portion of its the cover and insulating material\is packed be- 1937, Serial vNo. 168,365

(Cl. 38-66) I area to conform to the shape of a rotating roll II. Shoe I0 is .preferably-made'from stainless metal, or is surfaced with stainless metal, to insure a clean working surface. Such stainless metal is considerably more expensive than ordi- .5 nary metal and henceit is of advantage to use as f little of the stainless metal as possible, i. e., to

make the shoe as narrow'as is conveniently possible. Adjacent shoe I0 is an electrical heating unit I2 which may be of any suitable construction, the one illustrated being comprised of a mica or other heat resistant core I3 around which is spirally wound a flat ribbon I4 which possesses sufficient electrical resistance to become lWhite -hot when the usual electrical current is passed therethrough. As a protection for the hot ribbon I4, mica or other inert sheets I5 are placed on each side of ribbon I4. Suitable leads I6 are brought out from the ribbon I4 to connect said ribbon with an automatic temperature controlling device I'I which is regulated by means of a handle I8 located exteriorly of the assembly, the handle engaging a shaft I8 removably secured to control I 'I.

Heating unit I2 is maintained in contact with 25 shoe `Illby means of a backing plate I9 which is relatively heavy so that it will retain its shape under pressure. dSaid backing plate I9 is contoured to provide a uniform spacing between ltself and shoe I0. A plurality of leaf springs 2|)y 30 are-spot welded to backing plate I9 at the center 2| thereof. Each springis formed to have an initial contour such that when bent downwardly on either side of the weld, it will still clear backing plate I9. Thus by deecting the free ends of 35 the spring toward the shoe, pressure will be exerted upon backing plate I9 vat the weld to maintain heatingunit I2 against shoe I0, provided shoe I'Il is held against motion in the direction ofv pressure.

- The means for deflecting springs 20 and holding shoe I0 comprises a cover 22 preferably made from sheet steel and of the same width as the ordinary cover. Said cover 22 is formed with a curved `upper surface' 23, substantially parallel 45 sides 24 Yand .25 and inwardly and upwardly turned ends 26 and 2'I. Ends 28 and 29 of spring 20 are bent upwardly and are anchored in the corners formed by the junction of surface 23 and side 24, and surface 23 and side 25 respectively. The edges 30 and 3| of shoe I 0 are oset for a distance' which is suilicient to enable said edges to contact'edges 26 and`21 respectively of cover 22. The purpose of the offset is to remove edges 26 and 21 from the sphere of action of shoe I0. 55

It will be apparent now that the ends of springs 20 will be deected toward shoe I0 by contact with cover 22, and that shoe I0 will be held from movemen'fl in the direction of pressure by the inturned ends of the cove For purposes of attaching the assembly to the remainder of the ironer mechanism (not shown) a bracket 32 is welded or otherwise secured to cover 22. `Said bracket 32 may be provided with an ear 33 having an aperture 34 through which a hinge pin may be passed.

The ends of cover 22 are closed oif by means of removable plates 35 which are flanged and sey cured at the flanges to the cover by screws 36.

To disassemble the ironer shoe, end plate 35 is removed, handle I8 and shaft i8 are likewise removed, and the ironer shoe assembly is simply slid out from cover 22. Since no fasteners are used to hold back plate I9, heater element l2 and shoe I0 together, these parts separate as soon as they are .removed from the cover.

It will be noted that both edges 30 and 3| of shoe I0 are enclosed by cover 22. These edges take no part in the actual ironing, and hence need not be at ironing temperature. Conduction of the heat from the central portion of the shoe, however, causes these edges to become hot and hence the substantial enclosure of these edges by cover 22 protects the operator against an inadvertent contact with such edges. In the form illustrated suitable strips of insulating material 31, 38 are inserted between cover 22 and the ends of shoe I0 to increase the temperature gradient from the shoe to cover 22, i. e., the ternperature of cover 22 is still further reduced.

Since cover 22 is of substantially standard width, and since ironer shoe l0 fits within cover 22 instead of protruding beyond it as in previous designs, it is apparent that the width of shoe I0 is considerably reduced and hence a substantial economy of material is effected. No portion of the shoe is Welded to other parts'of the assembly, and hence the operative surface of the shoe can be made perfectly smooth.

It is understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of a preferred form of the invention, and that the scope of the invention, therefore, is not to be limited thereto but ispto be determined by the appended claims.

50 Iclaim:

the longitudinal edge regions of the shoe, and a plurality of leaf' springs engaged under flexed distortion between opposed regions of the interior surfaces of the shoe and cover, whereby to press the shoe against said side regions of the cover so as to fix the shoe in the cover.

3. An ironer shoe assembly comprising a shoe, a cover for the shoe having in-turned edges, said shoe being slidable relative to said cover upon said edges, and spring means between said cover and shoe for holding said shoe against said edges, said spring means being likewise slidable relative to said cover.

4. A n ironer shoe assembly comprising a shoe, a cover for the shoe having in-turned edges, said shoe being slidable relative to said cover upon said edges, a heating. unit adjacent said shoe, a rigid plate adjacent said unit, and resilient means between said plate and cover and slidable relative to said cover whereby to compress said plate, unit and shoe against said edges, said resilient means, plate, unit and shoe being removable from said cover by sliding relative thereto.

5. An ironer shoe assembly comprising an elongated shoe, a cover for the shoe having ln-turned longitudinal edges, said shoe being slidable relative to said cover upon said edges, a heating unit adjacent said shoe, heat insulating means between said cover and shoe at the edges of the shoe, a rigid plate adjacent said unit, and leaf springs secured to said plate and having ends slidably anchored in said cover, whereby to compress said plate, unit land shoe against said edges, said springs, plate, unit and shoe being removable from said cover by sliding relative thereto.

6. An ironer shoe assembly comprising an elongated shoe, a cover having side regions terminating in inturned iianges receiving the longitudinal edge regions of said shoe, a heating unit adjacent said shoe, a rigid plate adjacent said heating unit, and resilient means engaged under compression between opposed regions of the said plate and cover, and serving to fix all of the parts in their assembled relationship, said shoe being longitudinally slidable upon said flanges for disassembling the parts.

7. An ironer shoe assembly comprising an elongated shoe, a cover having side regions terminating in inturned flanges receiving the longitudinal edge regions of said shoe, a heating unit adjacent the inner surface of the shoe, and resilient means engaged under compression between opposed regions of said heating unit and the cover, and serving to maintain the parts in their as- -sembled relationship, said shoe being slidable longitudinally upon said flanges for disassembling the `parts.

" JOHN PAUL AHLBRANDT. 

